by Amy Arrington Photography

James and Taylor Rae’s are wedding was a family affair, with everyone pitching in their talents to make the wedding memorable. Neverland Farms was the perfect fit for the pair, who wanted something relaxed and fun!

Family and friends are incredibly important to us and all the help that everyone put into making our wedding special meant a lot to us. My uncle performed our ceremony and made everything incredibly personal to James and I by incorporating both our marriage verse, James 1:17, and stories about us as a couple. I had the lace from my mom’s wedding dress wrapped around my bouquet along with my grandmother’s broach. The doors at our ceremony were sanded, stained, and put together by my mom, sister, dad, James, and I. I walked down the aisle to Phil Wickham’s song “You’re Beautiful” and the doors open when the song reaches a crescendo and I got to see James for the first time. It was The cross behind our pastor/uncle was made from 100+ year old wood and will hang in our home. The dolly runner on our couple’s table was made by my godmother. My sister made the bridesmaid’s jewelry that they wore. It was all the little touches on our wedding day that made it so personal to us!

What was the most memorable part of the day?

James’ most memorable part of the day was seeing me ride in on the horse and carriage. My most memorable part of the day was the ceremony. We decided to not have a rehearsal the day before the wedding in order to add excitement and authenticity to the ceremony (admittedly this made me a little nervous!). After my dad and I walked down the aisle James thought it was time for him to take me from my dad (it wasn’t). There was an adorably awkward moment when James shook my hand and just stood there waiting. I’m sure he thought my dad was having second thoughts about giving me away. My our pastor/uncle had to pull him backing telling him it wasn’t his turn yet. My uncle joked about how eager James was to marry me and how it reflected his excitement for life. It was an adorable and sweet moment.

How did you two meet?

We met on a blind date! A friend in my Bible study had been telling me about this guy she worked with who I “had to meet.” I kept putting her off because I wasn’t interested. Finally, after weeks of persisting I half-heartedly agreed. It still blows my mind that she was able to see potential chemistry between a University of Georgia and a Georgia Tech graduate. James picked the place and we met at a little restaurant in downtown Roswell, GA. I was incredibly nervous and it definitely showed because I made the introductions super short and practically ran inside the restaurant. All nerves seemed to settle very quickly though. We had such a great time that we closed up the restaurant that night and had to be asked to leave as they were mopping the floors!

Tell us your proposal story (from James):

I knew I wanted to propose to her exactly one year from our first date. Taylor Rae and I decided to go away for the weekend to Highlands, NC to celebrate our one year anniversary. I probably lost 10 years off my life worrying about every detail with the proposal. It had rained all weekend and with a mountaintop proposal on a peak called “Sunset Rock,” rainy weather and clouds were not exactly what I drew up. I was also coordinating the secret arrival of both of our families (including her dad who was suppose to be on a trip in Argentina but had flown home early). Thankfully, everyone made it there safely, the rain lifted, and the clouds broke. It set the scene for an even-better-than-planned proposal. I walked her along the candlelit path, got on one knee, and asked the girl of my dreams to marry me. She said ‘Yes!’